ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

Procrastination.

The killer of ambition and dreams. This deadly toxin has led oh so many down the path of ruin.

I will do it tomorrow

That is one of the biggest pile of nonsense I have ever heard. Yeah, right, you will do it tomorrow. You need to arm yourself with measures to mitigate procrastination because it is the type of poison that slowly burrows it’s way deeper and deeper into your subconscious – to the point where it can become extremely difficult to overcome if it is left unchecked for too long and has spread its treacherous influence deep within.

• Procrastination leads to indecision.
• Indecision leads to doubt.
• Doubt leads to fear.
• And fear leads to the death of all dreams.

You must eliminate the killer of dreams at the source! The root cause is procrastination!

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination is the state of acting against your better judgement. 

You end up doing X when you really should do Y instead. You lounge around, binging on social media, browsing on your smartphone, wasting away at nightclubs, instead of committing to what is important to you.

The Problem

To consistently defeat the enemy known as procrastination, you first need to understand the conditions which allow it to arise. The reason people succumb to procrastination is that the brain is geared towards instant gratification rather than long term rewards. This is only further encouraged by the negative habits promoted by the aforementioned poisoned mentioned earlier. The more you feed on these toxins, the quicker it will spread, and the harder it will be to purify yourself.

Lasting happiness can only be attained through sustained effort toward a meaningful end.

The Solution

You must take IMMEDIATE ACTION to keep procrastination at bay. Only through cultivating willpower can you push forward even when you do not feel like it. Decide NOW that you will commit to excellence. Make your decisions when you are in optimal peak form, rather than in a compromised state, for no good choice can be made then.

You will come to realise that once you take action, you will start to feel better. Waiting around, delaying the inevitable, causes a build-up of negative emotions in the form of anxiety and guilt. Once you COMMIT to the task at hand, these emotions fade away, and more often than not, a sense of motivation will gently envelop you to complete the mission!

It is more painful to be stuck in procrastination than in the action flow!

Now that you understand that once you take action, you will likely propel yourself through to completion, you need to find ways to make it easy to take that initial first step! There are a few things you can try – consider the five tactics listed below.

1. Temptation Building
2. Punishing Bad Behaviour
3. Forward Planning
4. Break the Task Down
5. Prioritisation

1. Temptation Building

This is a tactic you can use where you combine a task you need to do with something you want to do. This can either be done simultaneously or rotationally.

Simultaneously

In this scenario, you combine the want and the need. For example, perhaps you have a podcast you like to listen to, but you struggle to get your fitness in. Make a habit of listening to the podcast only while you work out.

(You can also grab my book Home Workout as that details all you need to know to become fighting fit).

Maybe you like to snack throughout the day. Consider snacking only while you are studying.

Rotationally 

As you have probably surmised, the rotational method involves switching between a task you need to do and an activity you enjoy. This tactic is beneficial in cases where it is difficult to combine the need and the want simultaneously. Let’s say you have a DIY project you need to get done. You would apply the rotational method by spending time on the DIY project, after which you reward yourself with an activity you want to do.

You continue alternating as needed.

In both the simultaneous and rotation methods, you make the task that needs to be done more enjoyable by coupling with something you enjoy doing.

2. Punishing Bad Behaviour

If you skip a workout, you won’t feel the consequences immediately. Nothing will happen in the days, weeks, and months that follow. But years later, if you sporadically continue to skip your fitness regime, your body will eventually pay the price down the road. Because the threat is so far away in the future, it is tougher to become motivated by such impending doom.

You need to make the consequences immediate and hold yourself accountable. 

If you skip your training, then deprive yourself in some manner. Perhaps skip your favourite show or podcast. Accountability is critical, however. This tactic will not work if you not only fail to accomplish the task but also in administrating the punishment.

3. Forward Planning

I am very much a forward planner, so this strategy works well for me. If you are a highly organised individual, it is likely you already implement forward planning. The idea here is to proactively set dedicated time aside to carry out the mission at hand.

Rather than relying on reactive circumstances and hoping you will be able to work on a task at a particular point, forward planning makes the best use of your mind when it is in a healthy state, to plan the work so that you can work the plan when the allocated time presents itself to you.

4. Break the Task Down

Sometimes, procrastination can be caused due to the scale of the mission, which needs to be accomplished. Daunting tasks can, more often than not, cause you to become put off from attempting the work. In such instances, you should look to find a way to break the task down into manageable chunks, which can be tackled through various work bursts. This strategy combines well with the rotational method mentioned earlier.

It would be best if you generated small movement towards the goal and trust that you will gain more momentum along the way. The two-minute rule is an excellent way of achieving such a result. It forces you to take action for two minutes on the task. By committing fully to the two minutes, more often than not, you will be able to continue past that point.

So even when you do not feel like doing something, implement the two-minute rule and see how far you end up going!

The quicker you can get a task done, the better because the accomplishment of one thing can set the tone for the remainder of the day. This is why it is of utmost importance to complete at least one task in the morning so that you start the day right and carry that momentum with you right through to the evening.

5. Prioritisation

If it is not one sizeable task that does you in, it may very well be multiple smaller-scale tasks which have you feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes an army of goblins can prove more troublesome than a single troll. Prioritisation is your weapon for these situations and will quickly get you unstuck and focused on smashing through those pesky green hooligans. This tactic requires you to review the list of tasks and rank them in order of priority.

Commit yourself to the top five or so tasks and focus entirely on accomplishing the tasks in order of priority. You may not be able to slay all the goblins in a single day, but this method ensures you will make good, consistent progress in trimming down their numbers.

Conclusion

Every time you wish to accomplish anything – anything at all – you will have to battle procrastination. The nature of this devious poison is such that there is no permanent cure. You must constantly battle to push it back through force of willpower. Understand this fact, and you will do well going forward to conquer your hopes and dreams.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.